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Viktor Orbán’s defeat shows illiberalism is not inevitable

Viktor Orbán’s defeat shows illiberalism is not inevitable

Anne Applebaum writes: In the end, the defeat of Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s autocratic prime minister, required not just an ordinary election campaign or new messaging but rather the construction of a broad, diverse, and patriotic grassroots social movement. And by building exactly that, Hungary’s opposition changed politics around the world. Orbán’s loss brings to an end the assumption of inevitability that has pervaded the MAGA movement, as well as the belief—also present in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric—that illiberal parties…

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Viktor Orbán concedes defeat as opposition wins election in Hungary

Viktor Orbán concedes defeat as opposition wins election in Hungary

The Guardian reports: Hungary’s opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, has won the general election, ending leader Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power, in a result that is likely to rattle the White House and reshape the country’s relationship with the EU. Less than three hours after polls closed on Sunday, Orbán conceded defeat after what he described as a “painful” election result. “I congratulated the victorious party,” Orbán told supporters in Budapest. “We are going to serve the…

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The United States is destroying itself

The United States is destroying itself

Rebecca Solnit writes: The United States is being murdered, and it’s an inside job. Every department, every branch, every bureau and function of the federal government is being fatally corrupted or altogether dismantled or disabled. All this is common knowledge, but because it dribbles out in news stories about this specific incident or department, the reports never adequately describe an administration sabotaging the functioning of the federal government and also trashing the global economy, international alliances and relationships, and the…

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‘It would be catastrophic’: A Supreme Court decision could upend Alaska’s crucial Senate race

‘It would be catastrophic’: A Supreme Court decision could upend Alaska’s crucial Senate race

Politico reports: In the villages that dot Kodiak Island off the coast of southwest Alaska, the post arrives by plane. Mailing a ballot to the archipelago’s hub takes at least two days — if the region’s frequent storms haven’t grounded air traffic. It’s a common problem across Alaska. And it’s a big reason why the state allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted for up to 10 days afterward, a critical reprieve for voters in remote communities that…

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The era of free seas is unraveling — and now with Iran’s ‘toll booth’ everyone’s going to pay

The era of free seas is unraveling — and now with Iran’s ‘toll booth’ everyone’s going to pay

The Wall Street Journal reports: In just six weeks, the Iran War has shattered a system of global trade that has enriched people and nations for more than a century: the freedom to sail the open seas. The Strait of Hormuz long functioned as an artery for the world’s maritime economy. But that 30-mile-wide waterway is now a monument to a new global disorder. As some 20,000 sailors effectively held hostage at sea digested President Trump’s cease-fire announcement this week—contingent…

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Israel’s addiction to war

Israel’s addiction to war

  A negative political and public reaction in Israel to the ceasefire with Iran, despite the respite it brings. No pause for Israel’s army, however, or its victims. Hundreds have been killed in Lebanon, with more dead in Gaza. Is Israel a society effectively on a permanent war footing? Presenter: Tom McRae Guests: Ilan Pappe – a historian and professor at Exeter University Gideon Levy – a columnist at Haaretz newspaper in Tel Aviv Haim Bresheeth – professor at the…

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U.S. intelligence: China is preparing weapons shipment to Iran amid fragile ceasefire, sources say

U.S. intelligence: China is preparing weapons shipment to Iran amid fragile ceasefire, sources say

CNN reports: US intelligence indicates that China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, according to three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments. It would be a provocative move considering Beijing said it helped broker the fragile ceasefire agreement that paused the war between Iran and the US earlier this week. President Donald Trump is also set to visit China early next month for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The intelligence also underscores how Iran may…

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Pope Leo says ‘delusion of omnipotence’ is fueling U.S.-Israeli war against Iran

Pope Leo says ‘delusion of omnipotence’ is fueling U.S.-Israeli war against Iran

The Associated Press reports: In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace. Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan and as a fragile ceasefire held. History’s first U.S.-born pope didn’t mention the United States or President Donald Trump in…

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Judges fired after blocking deportations of pro-Palestinian students

Judges fired after blocking deportations of pro-Palestinian students

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration has fired two immigration judges who dismissed high-profile deportation cases against international students who had advocated for Palestinians. The firings of the judges, Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, marked the latest efforts by the Trump administration to reshape the country’s immigration courts. The administration has dismissed dozens of immigration judges and, according to those on the bench, has put judges under pressure to deny asylum claims and order deportations. Unlike federal judges…

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The biggest advance in AI since the LLM — why Claude Code changes everything

The biggest advance in AI since the LLM — why Claude Code changes everything

  Gary Marcus writes: Claude Code, an impressive and possibly game-changing “coding agent” for programmers to write code faster is the single biggest advance in AI since the LLM. And the thing is, Claude Code is NOT a pure LLM. And it’s not pure deep learning. Not even close. That changes everything. The source code leak proves it. Tucked away at its center is a 3,167 line kernel called print.ts. print.ts is a pattern matching. And pattern matching is supposed…

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‘First contact’ that may have led to complex life on Earth finally witnessed by scientists

‘First contact’ that may have led to complex life on Earth finally witnessed by scientists

Microscopic image showing newly discovered Asgard archaeon (Nerearchaeum marumarumayae) derived from microbial mats that offers clues to the formation of complex life. Debnath Ghosal By Brendan Paul Burns, UNSW Sydney and Kymberley Oakley, Indigenous Knowledge On the shores of the west coast of Australia lies a window to our past: the stromatolites and microbial mats of Gathaagudu (Shark Bay). To the untrained eye they look like a collection of rocks and slime – but they are in fact teeming with…

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Iran unable to find mines it laid in Strait of Hormuz, U.S. says

Iran unable to find mines it laid in Strait of Hormuz, U.S. says

The New York Times reports: Iran has been unable to open the Strait of Hormuz to more shipping traffic because it cannot locate all of the mines it laid in the waterway and lacks the capability to remove them, according to U.S. officials. The development is one reason Iran has not been able to quickly comply with the Trump administration’s admonitions to let more traffic pass through the strait. It is also potentially a complicating factor as Iranian negotiators and…

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Iran attacks on crucial Saudi pipeline and production facilities slash kingdom’s oil output

Iran attacks on crucial Saudi pipeline and production facilities slash kingdom’s oil output

CNBC reports: Saudi Arabia’s critical pipeline to the Red Sea suffered a recent attack from Iran, cutting throughput by 700,000 barrels per day. The attack hit a pumping station on the East-West pipeline, according to a state news agency report. This pipeline brings crude oil from processing facilities near the Persian Gulf to an export terminal on the Red Sea called Yanbu. The Saudis have relied on the pipeline, which has a capacity of 7 million bpd, as their main…

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Lebanese ask whether peace can ever be possible with a neighbor that repeatedly violates its sovereignty

Lebanese ask whether peace can ever be possible with a neighbor that repeatedly violates its sovereignty

  What is really going on in Lebanon? Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran, Israel launched a massive wave of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah across the country. Iran says Israel is violating the terms of the ceasefire – so could the peace talks set to be held tomorrow in Islamabad collapse before they’ve even started? And is this exactly what Israel wants? On this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy was joined from Beirut by…

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